Strychnia

In August of 2009, Strychnia, a five-piece Death Metal band, was formed in Dayton, New Jersey. Strychnia’s broad range of influences have allowed them to dominate the local metal scene with aggressive thrash and crushing death metal grinds. After releasing a few demos, the band finally entered the studio in May 2010 and began recording their debut album, “The Anatomy of Execution” with producer Bobby Torres of FrightBox Recordings. Due to financial problems the band never finished their album until May 2011, and didn't release it until June 12th, 2011. But despite the adversity, Strychnia announced that they would be making their entire album available for free download. Within six months of releasing the album, it had been downloaded over 3,000 times! When questioned about the release, the band quoted, “We really just wanted people to hear the hard work we put into that album. After all the time spent perfecting the songs, as well as the money, we were just dying to hear everyone's opinion. We are dedicated musicians and nothing is more awesome than hearing how much you guys dig our tunes. Plus we're still an underground metal band, we care mainly about exposure and everyone hearing our music. If we ever wanna break out of the local scene, we can't rely on people spending money to hear our music for the first time. It's different when you're established and you've already got a large following of people who love what you do. We still don't regret it either because look what it did for us... the album just spread like wildfire. People love it and releasing that album for free could be the best thing we've done for ourselves.” But just when things began to seem back on course, three of Strychnia’s members abruptly left the band. The band had no choice but to enter a hiatus and begin planning a comeback. After about a year, Strychnia announced their return with a newly reformed lineup on July 31st, 2012. Shortly after this, they also announced they were working on a new EP - "Reanimated Monstrosity", which is now scheduled to release on May 14th, 2013. The band entered the studio once again with Bobby Torres of FrightBox Recordings in March 2013. Although the band hasn't played a show since May of 2011, they have been working furiously to rebuild their presence. Over the course of ONE YEAR the band accumulated 76,000+ followers on Twitter, 10,200+ "Likes" on Facebook, and 2,000+ followers on SoundCloud. Shortly before the band entered the studio, they announced John Gallagher of Dying Fetus as a guest vocalist on the self-titled track of the new EP. During an interview following the announcement, the band stated, "We're absolutely stoked to work with John, he is an amazing musician and we love the work he's done over the years. Dying Fetus is a huge influence for all of us and we can't wait to work with him." Prior to their hiatus, the band had already earned a strong reputation and proved to be one of New Jersey's best Death Metal bands on the scene. The band quotes, "It's not often that you will find new bands that can impact their audience and get them moving without giving in to the mainstream bullshit. We are one of the bands that strive to make that difference in the music scene. Our unique mixture of influences has given us a sound that has virtually separated us from your generic metal band of the new era". During their two years of annihilation, Strychnia shared the stage with many national acts and received interest from multiple independent record labels. Strychnia has played alongside bands such as: Exodus, Hate Eternal, Lazarus AD, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (D.R.I.), Warbringer, Waking The Cadaver, Malevolent Creation, Destroyer 666, Revocation, Goatwhore, The Absence, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Rose Funeral, EkoTren, Ventana, & Mobile Deathcamp. The band has also played many of the top venues in New Jersey, as well as the Tri-State Area. Including: Starland Ballroom, The Trocadero, Hangar 84, Dingbatz, Crocodile Rock Cafe, Championship Bar & Grill, and more! The following excerpt was taken from an article/review written about the band, following one of their top performances at Starland Ballroom on January 16th, 2010: ------------------------------------------------------- When a "Scream" band comes along and makes my head swing, it's a RARE occasion. However, other than the mighty "Cradle of Filth" never has a "screamer" made me want to slam my cranium against a wall in triumph and pure respect more than the band Strychnia! This band nailed it. With a bass line that could bring a mountain down, guitars that could melt faces off, drums that could shatter a glacier, and a vocalist who hit every throat gurgling note with precision and tenacity in such a way that it would be worthy as a war ensemble. I couldn't have been more impressed by this bands abilities. The fact that they were so young was what impressed me the most. I don't think any of them were over 20. It made an older metal maniac like me happy to know there are kids out there who still want to carry the torch of metal into the depths for years to come. ------------------------------------------------------- New album - "Into The Catacombs" featuring CJ McMahon of Thy Art is Murder - coming soon! Stream/Purchase via www.strychnia.bandcamp.com & more!